Recovering From a Reoccurring Nightmare
by Mysty Star
Summary: Jason sometimes has nasty flashbacks to his time spent in Rita's dark dimension. Rita decides to use this to get advantage. If the Red Ranger thinks he's in the dungeon, he can't lead the others. Especially if he thinks he's being attacked. Warning: mentions PTSD, and somewhat graphic violence
1. The Spell

**Recovering from a Nightmare**

**Mighty Morphin Power Rangers**

**Yeah so I got nostalgic the other day and was watching Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Decided to watch the Green with Evil episodes. And then plot bunnies attacked…..yea…oh well**

**Yeah, so the story on this...well, even the Rangers are human. I think that that's been proved quite a few times on the show. And humans, when they go through a traumatic experience, the memory of the event tends to stick with them. So, my theory is that Jason, the beloved first red ranger, has some slight PTSD with the time he was captured by Tommy in Green With Evil. I also noticed, when I was watching Crystal of Nightmares, the nightmare Goldar used for Jason was the time Jason was trapped, powerless, in the dark dimension with him. The same experience as mentioned above, from Green With Evil. So yeah. Takes place about two weeks after Green With Evil.**

**Um, trigger warnings? Mentions of PTSD, somewhat graphic violence**

_Jason's POV_

Mist curled around him as he struggled against the Green Ranger's foot crushing his arm. The evil Ranger laughed, and brought down the Sword of Darkness, straight at his heart.

"No!" Jason shot up; thrashing in his tangled sheets and fell to the floor. He jumped into a defensive position, heart racing. He scanned his room, calming slightly as he realized he was safe, in his room. Jason flopped down on his bed, sighing. He had had this nightmare several times, even though the event had happened over two weeks ago.

_Somewhere above Earth…_

Rita Repulsa looked down at the earth in disdain, unable to sleep that night. She noticed Jason's plight and grinned wickedly.

"So, Jason is having nightmares about the time he spent in my care." Rita laughed, an idea forming in her head.

_The next day_

Jason sighed as he walked into school. He hadn't gotten much sleep last night, the nightmare plaguing him. He heard a laugh as he put his bag in his locker and froze. Tommy and Kimberly came around the corner. Jason swallowed and looked away.

_/It's alright/_ He thought to himself. _/Tommy's not under a spell, everything is fine./_

It was going to be a long day.

_Later _

They were at the Youth Center when their communicators sounded. Walking into the hallway, and making sure no one else was around, Jason answered the call.

"We read you Zordon."

"Rangers, teleport to the command center immediately."

"You got it."

Six beams of light shot into the sky.

The group landed at the command center.

"What's up Zordon?" Zach asked.

"Observe the viewing globe."

The six rangers turned towards the globe, which showed the park. Goldar and Scorpina appeared, attacking nearby locals.

"They're attacking civilians!" Tommy exclaimed.

"But no monster?" Zach frowned at the screen. "It must be some sort of trap."

"Doesn't change anything." Jason said. "We're still going there." He grabbed his morpher.

"It's morphin time!"

"Dragonzord!"

"Mastodon!"

"Pterodactyl!"

"Triceratops!"

"Saber-Toothed Tiger!"

"Tyrannosaurs!"

"Hahaha! Greetings Power Rangers!" Goldar laughed.

"You're going down, Goldar!"

"Am I?"

A squad of putties appeared.

"Rangers, go!"

While the rest of the rangers attacked Scorpina and the putties, Jason went straight for Goldar. He slashed high with his sword, but Goldar blocked it.

"Pathetic Red Ranger! I thought you could do better!"

"I'll show you better!"

Their battle escalated, each swinging their swords with mighty strength.

Suddenly, Goldar laughed again.

"Your time is up, Red Ranger!"

Goldar pulled a weird looking type of gun, he shot it at Jason, who couldn't dodge in time. The red beam from the gun encompassed Jason, drowning him in magic. Then, it suddenly stopped. Goldar laughed, and he, Scorpina, and the putties disappeared.

"That was weird." Zack said, looking around the empty park.

"Jason!" Tommy, followed by the others, raced to their leader's side.

"I'm ok." Jason said as Tommy helped him up.

"Let's get back to the command center, to be sure." Trini said.

"Right. Let's go."

Six beams of light left the park.

-breakline-

* * *

><p>Jason groaned, head in his hands. He opened his eyes, only to see mist curling around him. His breath hitched as he scrambled up, standing.<p>

"No. Not again."

He was in the dark dimension.

/No. No no no no no./ He thought frantically. A fruitless search revealed he didn't have his communicator or morpher. He looked around.

The place was the same as he remembered it, with no exit.

Suddenly, there was a noise behind him. Jason whipped around, praying it wasn't Goldar.

It was a group of putties.

_At the command center..._

Jason suddenly groaned and collapsed to the ground.

"Jason!" The rest of the rangers rushed to their leader. Jason's eyes shot open, and he scrambled up.

"No. Not again." He said, confusing the others.

"Jason?" Kimberly asked. Jason whipped around, and his eyes widened.

"Putties." He breathed.

"Putties?"

"Jason, you ok man?" Tommy asked, concerned.

Jason backed up, arms coming up defensively.

"I don't care how many of you there are, I'll take you all."

"Woah, man, cool off." Zack said. "It's just us."

Jason's eyes were wild, darting from one ranger to the next.

"I believe the device Goldar hit Jason with is negatively affecting his optic nerves."

"What?"

"He says he thinks Jason is seeing things."

"Yeah, us as Putties!"

Tommy slowly moved towards Jason.

"Jason, it's ok, it's us."

"Hyah!" Jason swung at Tommy. Tommy ducked, backing off, defending himself from Jason's wild attacks. Jason kept swinging, almost frantically. Tommy shoved Jason away.

Jason stumbled back and tripped, landing on his back. He half rose, still on the ground, and scrambled backwards.

"Jason, it's us!" Kimberly tried. They could tell it didn't work.

"Rangers, it appears Rita has used a spell on Jason to make him think he is imprisoned in her dark dimension."

"What can we do Zordon?" Trini asked.

"There may be a way to end the spell. Alpha, scan Jason and check the databases."

"I'll help you, Alpha." Billy said, concern in his eyes as he moved away from his bespelled friend and leader. The other rangers couldn't do anything but watch Jason. Jason, their leader, their friend, who was convinced he had been captured, and was surrounded by enemies.

It was quiet for a few minutes, save for Jason's ragged breathing.

"Aye-yai-yai! Not good!"

"What is it Alpha?"

"The results of the scan! Not good, not good!"

"What do they say?"

"They say- they say oh aye-yai-yai!"

"Alpha, what is it?"

Zordon answered for his distressed assistant.

"Unfortunately the results of the scan show that the spell will slowly drive Jason insane before killing him."

Silence.

"What?" They all burst out at once.

"That can't-"

"Surely-"

"But-"

"No way-"

"Rangers!"

The five rangers fell silent at Zordon's call.

"I know you are all upset, but right now we must focus on helping Jason."

"Guys, I think I found something!" Billy called. The other rangers went over to him.

"Really?"

"Yes. Here, it lists a spell that can negate the adverse effects of the spell affecting Jason."

"That means...?"

"We can end the spell." Trini translated.

The other rangers perked up at that.

"Really?"

"Aw man, that's great! What do we do?"

"We simply need to acquire the listed components, combine them, and administer the solution to Jason."

"What are the ingredients?"

"Most of them seem to be normal stuff you could find in a lab. However, the key ingredient is something called a... trenzortium flower?"

"A trenzortium flower?" Alpha asked. "Those are rare!"

"Indeed, but fortunately, there is a pocket division parallel to earth where there is a trenzortium bush growing." Zordon said.

"We'll need to hurry though." Trini said worriedly.

"I can retrieve the trenzortium!" Alpha proclaimed.

"It is too dangerous for you to go alone, Alpha. Zack, Kimberly, you will go with Alpha to retrieve the trenzortium. Trini, you will assist Billy with everything else he needs for the cure. Tommy, you must watch Jason. Keep him calm as best as you can. If he does not panic, the spell will affect him at a slower rate."

"You got it, Zordon."

"Good luck, rangers, and may the power protect you."

Zack and Kimberly morphed and went with Alpha. Trini and Billy started on the cure.

Tommy went and sat, watching Jason. Jason was hunched against the wall, curled in on himself.

Time passed slowly. Tommy occasionally shifted around, still watching his friend.

Jason sat, hunched against one of the walls of his prison. The putties had gone a while ago. He wondered if his friends knew where he was. Surely they were trying to find him?  
>Jason shook away his doubts. His friends would come and rescue him. He just had to be patient. He shivered. It was cold in here, especially with all the mist.<br>An echo of a laugh sounded through the room. Jason tensed. Goldar appeared, but he was...transparent, ghostly. As Jason watched, the phantom like figure laughed, then disappeared.  
>Jason shivered. <em>Gotta keep it together./_ He thought.

Tommy watched as Jason tensed, his breath speeding up. He rose and took a hesitant step forward, indecisive. His mind was made up when Jason shivered, looking extremely haunted.

"Jason?" He called softly. "Jason, its Tommy."

_-Jason-_ he heard. Jason looked up, wide-eyed.

"Who's there?"

Silence answered him.

The command center was mostly quiet. Billy and Trini were working on the cure, and Tommy had gone back to sitting near Jason, who kept shivering. The shivering concerned Tommy. It wasn't cold in the command center, not even close. Yet Jason kept shivering, more and more often.

Jason didn't know how much longer he could take this. He had been here who knows how long, with freaky ghostly visions haunting him in his prison. Sometimes it was Goldar, sometimes putties, once it was Rita herself. The worst vision though, was the one of Tommy, once again under Rita's spell,attacking him. The transparent Tommy had faded before getting close to him though, and for that he was grateful.

Suddenly, Goldar and Tommy appeared. This time they weren't transparent. A group of putties appeared as well, and held him down.

"Let me go you clay brains!" Jason struggled against their grip, but there were too many.

Tommy shot to his feet when Jason started spasming.

"Let me go you clay brains!" Jason shouted.

"Jason!"

Tommy crossed over to his friend and shook his shoulders.

Jason's eyes were glazed over.

"Jason, snap out of it!"

Goldar and Tommy laughed at him.

"Your time has come, Red Ranger!" Goldar crowed.

"And once you have been destroyed, the other rangers will fall as well." Tommy laughed.

"No!"

Both Goldar and Tommy took out their swords and raised them.

Jason's breath caught in his throat.

_/No./_ He thought bleakly.

He couldn't get loose.

The two swords flashed as they plunged straight down.

Into his chest.

Tommy jumped when Jason started screaming.

He had never heard Jason scream, not even in battle. Whenever he was wounded, the most noise from Jason was a grunt. Now Jason was letting out terrified, pain-filled, blood-curdling screams.

"Jason! JASON!"

Jason was thrashing against Tommy, still screaming at the top of his lungs. Tommy tried holding him still, but that made it worse.

Just as suddenly, Jason stopped screaming.

He slumped down against the wall, unconscious.

"Zordon, what was that?!"

Billy suddenly rushed over, with a syringe.

"That, Tommy, was an effect of the spell." Zordon said.

"I saw something about it in the database." Billy said, jabbing Jason with the syringe. "This is a mixture to help him fight the spell. It won't last long though."

Billy went back over to where Trini was, continuing with the cure.

Tommy swallowed, mouth dry. He belatedly realized he was still on his knees, next to Jason.

Tommy's stomach lurched, and he quickly got to his feet and raced towards the nearest bathroom, down the hall from the main room. He reached the toilet and emptied his stomach's content into it.

Once he was done, he washed his mouth out at the sink.

Slowly, he walked back to the main room. Trini spotted him, concern in her eyes. He simply shook his head.

He went back over to Jason and sat down once more.

_/Please, Kim, Zack, Alpha,/_ he thought. _/Please hurry./_  
><em>I don't know how much more Jason can take./_


	2. Retrieving the Trenzortium

**I'm back! Sorry this took so long, I've been a bit busy. But here I am, with another chapter!**

**This chapter is dedicated to bandgeek18. Thank you for your review!**

_In a pocket dimension…_

Kimberly, Zach, and Alpha stepped out of the portal. Forest surrounded them.

"So, this place is a pocket dimension?"  
>"Indeed Zach. And the trenzortium is that way." Alpha said, pointing at a distant jungle.<p>

The trio started walking.

They reached the jungle, trees stretching in every direction. Some were recognizable trees, others were completely foreign. There were some that looked like evergreens, except they were blue! Some trees looked like someone had taken a bunch of brown and dark green vines and braided them together. Still others looked like giant mushrooms, dotted with purple flowers among the green foliage.

"The trenzortium bush should be in the center of the jungle!" Alpha said, pointing into the dark, heavy foliage.

"Great. Icky vines and who knows what else." Kimberly sighed. Zach shook his head.

"Let's just get going."

Zach went first, using his ax to hack his way through vines and branches, followed by Alpha and Kim.

After trekking a few miles through the dark vines, the two rangers and Alpha finally came to a clearing. At the edge of the clearing, there was a cliff. The only way over was an old, rickety wood and rope bridge. Clouds almost completely covered the bridge. Through the clouds, they could barely see an island.

"The trenzortium is on that island." Alpha announced.

"You're joking right?" Zach asked incredulously. They cautiously approached the flimsy bridge and looked over the edge, but couldn't see the bottom.

"Okay. So we just have to cross this, right? No big right?" Kim sounded unsure. The bridge seemed sturdy enough.

"Oh dear."

"What is it Alpha?" Kimberly asked, concerned.

"I do not believe the bridge will hold my weight. You and Zach will have to go on without me."

"Hey man, it's cool. We'll hop across, get the trenzortium, and be back in no time."

"Yeah, nothing to worry about, Alpha."

"Okay rangers. I will wait here. Remember, the trenzortium has three white petals, with six smaller red petals. The center is purple."

"Got it."

Zach and Kimberly started across the bridge.

Once they had carefully made their way across, the black and pink rangers stared at the beautiful garden before them. There were flowers and fruit trees everywhere, with the scent of jasmine and oranges in the air.

"Wow." Kim breathed, as simultaneously, Zach let out a "woah." The two simply stood there and looked for a minute, before Kimberly spotted the flower they had come for.

"Look, Zach, the trentzortyium!"

"Trenzortium, Kim."

The trenzortium tree stood in the center of the garden. The tree's leaves were a dark, glossy green, with flowers bursting vibrantly forth from the branches.

As the rangers approached the tree, however, there was a sudden gust of wind. Fire sprang up between the humans and the tree, making Kimberly shriek, Zach yelp, and both jump back. A whooshing sound could be heard, and the rangers looked up. A gigantic sphinx was soaring above, headed straight for the two humans. Landing gently, between the rangers and the flames, the sphinx regarded the two with suspicion. Easily as large as a zord, Zach and Kimberly felt dread, wondering if the sphinx would simply crush them.

"Why have you come here?" The creature asked in a musical, lilting voice.

"Our friend is in danger. He needs a trenzortium flower or he'll die!" Kimberly said, nervousness in her voice. The sphinx tilted her head, regarding Kimberly.

There was a sudden loud, mournful sounding, inhuman cry. The sphinx glanced behind herself before turning back to the humans.

"I see that you two are power rangers. Tell me, how did two humans come by such power? And do not lie."

"It was given to us," Zach said. "By Zordon so we could protect Earth from Rita Repulsa."

The sphinx hummed thoughtfully.

"You speak the truth." She said. "But why do you need a trenzortium flower?"

"Our friend, Jason, who's the red ranger, was hit by one of Rita's spells." Kim said. "We need a flower to cure him."

The sphinx sat silent, watching the rangers in front of her. Finally, she said, "Your words are true, and your intentions are pure. You may collect a flower, but just one. But," she added, "only one of you may approach the tree. You must be pure of heart to pass through the flames unscathed to pick a flower."

"Pure of heart?" Zach asked. The sphinx simply nodded. Zach and Kimberly looked at each other, unsure.

Kim decided to go forward, approaching the flames nervously. She didn't know if she was pure of heart, but she knew she had to try, for Jason's sake. Kim neared the flames, heart in her throat. She swallowed, then stepped forward, into the fire.

Kim released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding when the flames didn't hurt her. They curled all around her, but there was no burning, no pain, no intense heat.

Kim sighed in relief as she stepped out of the fire, towards the tree. She approached a low-hanging branch, and gently picked a flower. Cradling the flower in her hand, she made sure not to crush the fragile petals. The white petals of the trenzortium glittered with light. The smaller red petals were feathery, with the purple center shining like a star. Kim, still gently cradling the flower, turned and passed unharmed once more through the flames.

Zach watched with trepidation as Kimberly stepped into the flames. He tensed, dreading hearing her screams. But nothing happened. Zach waited, fidgeting, as Kim disappeared behind the flames. He could do nothing but watch, and that didn't agree with him. He also knew if anything happened to Kim, it would be his fault.

"Peace, black ranger." The sphinx said, startling Zach from his thoughts. He looked up in surprise as the sphinx smiled at him. "Your teammate is fine, and your leader will recover." The sphinx paused. "The power is great with you, and your comrades. You do have anything to be concerned with."

"Can you see the future?"

"No, black ranger. But I am well aware of the war taking place on your home world."

"Do you…do you think we can beat Rita? Save our world?"

"I do not doubt it. You and your friends, working together, are an unbeatable force even the most vile beings will tremble at, and as long as you and your team remembers who you are, you will never be defeated."

At that moment, Kim's figure appeared in the flames, heading back towards Zach. He looked up at sphinx, no longer afraid. "Thank you." The sphinx smiled serenely, and nodded her head once.

"Zach! I got the flower!" Kim emerged from the fire, trenzortium cupped in her hands.

"Great! Let's get back, Jason will need it." She nodded, coming up next to him.

"Go well, power rangers." The sphinx said, taking off into the sky.

"Zach! Kimberly! Oh, thank goodness you are alright. Do you have the trenzortium flower?"

"Right here Alpha."

"Great! Now we need to get back to the command center. We can teleport back from here."

Three beams of light left the pocket dimension.

**And done! So now the rangers have what they need to cure Jason, yay! Again, sorry this took so long. But is it all rainbows and sunshine from here on out?**


	3. Fighting the Darkness

Darkness. That's all there is, the darkness. It's like he's floating, floating in endless night. It's calming almost, except, no, there's something. Something about the darkness that surrounds him, something evil. Yes, the darkness is evil. But how did he know that? More importantly, _**who was he?**_

There's a small flash of- something, but then it's gone. He struggles to move, but he can't. The darkness senses his fight and encompasses him, but it's no longer calming, he's no longer floating. No, he's drowning. He's drowning in darkness and there's no way out.

No. There's always a way.

"There's always a way." He whispers.

Think, think. What defeats darkness?

**-Nothing. You cannot win.-**

"Who's there?!" He feels panic. Someone, no, some_thing_ is there with him.

"Let go of me!"

**-Never.-** A wave of darkness crashes over him, and he can't breathe. _He can't breathe._ And his thoughts are fading, the darkness is clouding his mind, he can't think, _he can't breathe, and he is dying, he can feel it._

"No." He chokes out, hands clawing at the darkness.

No, they need me. Wait, who needs me?

And the memory, his memories, are _there_, they are just out of reach if only he could _**reach**_-

And memories flood his mind.

_My name is Jason Lee Scott. _

_I am a power ranger. I am the red ranger, the leader._

_My friends are counting on me._

_**I never. Give. Up.**_

And he could see his friends, Tommy, Zach, Billy, Trini, Kimberly. He could see Zordon and Alpha, and his mom and dad, and Mr. Caplan, even Bulk and Skull, he could see Ernie. He could see Rita and her minions and Goldar and putties and monsters and zords and the Youth Center and the school. The gym, weight room, classroom, house, beach, Mrs. Appleby, his students, his ranger identity, his sword, the Command Center.

He could see _**everything**_. All his memories, on fast-forward. It was overwhelming, there was _**so much**_.

But suddenly, there was a break, a pause in the flood of memories. His friends, and him, hanging out, just relaxing. They were in the park, talking about the future, the possibilities of defeating Rita.

"_I don't really know what will happen," he'd said. "But I do know, we will always be friends. I will always be there for you guys." He had sworn. And the others did as well, everyone putting their hands in the center, making a promise to always be there for each other, to never give up, __**no matter what**__._

Jason suddenly realized he was glowing. A bright pure red surrounded his body, straining to push back the darkness. He focused on the red light, making it stronger; he pushed back the darkness.

**-Give up. You cannot win.-**

No.

"Never!" He yelled, pushing with all his strength. The red glow increased.

"You can't defeat me! I am the Red Ranger!"

**-You are a puny, pathetic human!-**

Jason cried out in pain as the darkness suddenly lashed out at him, striking his chest. His glow decreased and flickered.

But he didn't give up. Jason fought, striking at the evil surrounding him.

But the fight was tiring. The darkness was endless, and he was tiring.

**-Yes, give up. You cannot win.-** The darkness hissed. The voice promised him peace and rest, he just had to let go, relax. No more fighting, no more monsters, just rest.

No. He protested weakly.

**-Let go, Jason. Rest. Your team does not matter.-**

His team?

Fatal mistake.

His team. His _friends, his family. __**His rangers.**__ Tommy, his brother in arms and sparring partner. Zach, his best friend, always cracking jokes to make him laugh. Billy, his friend who was extremely smart and kind, who always had a plan or idea. Trini, who was always calm, who translated Billy's words, who always knew just what to say. And Kimberly, who was a younger sister to him, who was the heart of the team, the heart of their __**family**__._

_His family, waiting for him to come back. He couldn't leave them, he couldn't let them down._

_**He had to get back to them. **_

"Get. BACK!"

Energy exploded from him, bursting forth in a powerful, vibrant, red wave.

"You will NOT DEFEAT ME!"

Jason shot red light into the darkness. There was an inhuman, pain and rage-filled shriek.

Jason started clawing at the darkness again, trying to go up. He started moving up, he could sense that the way out was up.

**-No!-**

A wave of darkness slammed into him.

"Let me go!" He was sinking, the darkness dragging him down as he fought to go up.

**-You will never escape!-**

Jason was starting to lose ground.

No! No no no! I have to escape!

But he couldn't.

Suddenly, there was a loud crack of thunder. Jason searched for the cause of the noise, and saw what looked like a bolt of lightning headed straight for him. It was multicolored, beautiful and glowing green, blue, black, yellow, and pink.

The lightning hit Jason square in the chest, but didn't hurt him. It empowered him. He could feel his strength returning, his power growing.

**-No!-**

The darkness tried to smother the lightning, but shrieked in pain at its touch.

The power from the bolt collected around Jason, shielding him from the darkness, giving off a rainbow hue. Jason held out his hand, and a sword formed in it, much like his power sword.

"**HIYAH!"** Gripping the sword tightly, Jason delivered a mighty, two-fisted downward slash. A massive wave of light mimicked his sword, slicing straight at the darkness' heart.

An ear-piercing, mind-numbing, awful screech came from the darkness, slowly fading away as the darkness itself also faded.

Jason stood, shaking from the battle. It was grey around him, the evil darkness gone. Letting his sword fade, Jason turned when a light shone behind him. There was a door, standing there, beckoning him.

Jason approached the door without fear, opened it, and walked through.

Then he opened his eyes.


	4. Returning to the Light

**I'm baaack! Apologies for the wait, life got a little busy. Oh, and in case the last chapter didn't make sense, that was Jason fighting the spell. The darkness was the spell, and the lightning bolt that came in and helped Jase was the cure. Okay. Now that that's out of the way, next chapter! Takes place at the same time as last chapter, they start at the same point in time.**

**Oh, and I don't own anything in this story except the trenzortium. That's my made-up magical flower. But anything else, specifically the Power Rangers, are owned by Saban and etc., not me. This story is purely for entertainment, not for gain, blah blah blah blah, don't sue me.**

Three beams of light touched down in the Command Center, revealing Kim, Zach, and Alpha.

"We're back you guys!" Kim called.

Morphenomenal! Did you retrieve the trenzortium?"

"Right here." Kim went over to Billy and opened her cupped hands, showing the flower she held. Billy carefully tool the flower and added it to the concoction on the table in front of him.

"Anything happen while we were gone?" Zach asked.

Trini, Billy, and Tommy shared a look.

"Tommy, can you bring Jason here?

"Sure Billy."

A small, cot-like bed materialized behind Billy. Tommy heaved Jason up, and gently laid him down. Billy picked up the vial with the cure and approached Jason, who was extremely pale, his breathing shallow.

Gently opening Jason's mouth, Billy poured the cure down his throat, making sure Jason swallowed all of it.

The rangers watched with baited breath, desperately praying that they weren't too late.

Jason shifted, and his breathing started to deepen and even out. His color started returning. After a moment, he sighed, and his tensed body relaxed.

"Jason is no longer in any danger." Zordon said. "The cure has done its work."

The rangers all sighed in relief, then watched in amazement as Jason opened his eyes.

"Jason?" Zach asked, nervously.

The red ranger groaned and put a hand to his head, then looked around. "Guys?"

"Jason!"

"You're alright!"

"What happened?"

"You were hit with one of Rita's spells." Trini explained. "Goldar hit you with it in the park. Anything you saw after that was a hallucination brought upon by the spell."

"…oh." Jason blinked, relieved. With some difficultly, he sat up. The other rangers all enveloped him in a massive group hug.

"You really scared us there, man."

"We're so glad you're alright."

"Good to be back." Jason said, standing.

"I'm so happy you are alright, Jason! Oh, my circuits are overloading."

"Thanks Alpha."

"I'm pleased to see you are alright, Jason."

"Thanks, Zordon. It's good to be back."


	5. Recovery

**I'm back! Sorry about the wait. So this chapter is the last one guys, thanks for reading it, and thanks to all who reviewed! I'd love to hear your thoughts after you read! And…well, this actually did not end the way I originally planned. I had an ending in mind, was writing this chapter, and it got a mind of its own, so….I hope you enjoy! Yeah, I'm a sap for happy endings.**

_/Thoughts/_

It was the day after Jason had been cured. All the rangers were together in the park. Tommy, Zach, Billy, Trini and Kimberly were playing three-on-two basketball; Zach and Tommy against Kim, Trini and Billy. Jason sat on a picnic table nearby, watching. He was relieved to be back with his friends, free from that spell. Luckily, last night, once in bed, he had been so exhausted he didn't dream at all. Jason didn't want to admit it -/he was a leader, leaders aren't supposed to have weaknesses/- but he feared the nightmares, especially the ones that would come now because of that stupid spell. He hated that feeling of blind terror and vulnerability that always accompanied the nightmares, hated waking in the middle of the night, sweat-soaked, bolting up ready to fight. He hated the urge that came then, to call Zordon and Alpha and the others to make sure everything was okay, that terrible, gut-wrenching fear that everything wasn't okay, that his nightmare was reality. He hated it.

"Jason? Jason!"

Suddenly realizing his friends were calling his name, and had been for some time, Jason snapped his head to attention, sharply bringing his head up, breaking off his staring contest with the ground.

"What?"

"You okay man?" The other rangers were gathered around Jason, faces showing concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Jason grinned half-heartedly. "Just spaced out for a minute."

The others exchanged looks, clearly skeptical.

"Jason," Trini said gently. The red ranger looked away.

"I'm fine, guys, really."

The others sat around Jason, unwilling to just leave their leader to his troubling thoughts.

"Jason, you know you can talk to us." Kim's voice was soft. Jason's head drooped down.

"I know." He practically whispered.

It was silent for a few minutes.

"It was hard." Jason muttered, surprising the others and himself with the words. He kept going, the words tumbling from his mouth, along with all his pent-up fear. "The spell, I saw…" he swallowed. "Visions. I couldn't tell what was real and what wasn't. I couldn't- I couldn't," he buried his head in his hands, voice shaking. "I couldn't _**do**_ anything, I was helpless and-and." Jason's breathing was harsh and shallow. "I saw-saw Rita, and-and Goldar and," _/Tommy/_. He shuddered. "I wasn't- I failed you guys." He whispered hoarsely. "I-I failed, and-" his voice broke.

"Jason, you didn't fail us." Kim said, tears in her eyes. Jason just shook his head.

"I did, I was hit, I couldn't- couldn't save-"

"Jason, man, easy. We're alright. Whatever you saw was the spell." Zach tried to reassure his friend.

"And getting hit with the spell wasn't your fault, Jason." Trini said. "That was Goldar, and Rita."

"Besides man, you knew it was a trap, but you went anyway, to protect civilians. Not many people would do that, but you did."

Jason shifted at Tommy's words, which had the desired effect of calming him, slightly. Then he remembered the awful darkness.

"I almost didn't make it." He confessed quietly. "After the visions…it was just darkness. I…I was surrounded, and drowning. The only thing that kept me from dy-drowning was the thought of you guys."

The others were silent at this.

"…what…what happened?" Kim asked hesitantly.

"It was….pure evil, surrounding me. I fought against it, but I wasn't strong enough to beat it." Jason swallowed, remembering the horrible voice that had taunted him.

"Just as it almost had me again…I saw a lightning bolt, of pure power and goodness coming straight for me. It was glowing different colors, blue and pink and black and yellow and green." He glanced up at his friends. "That bolt is what saved me. It helped me, it cut the darkness in two. Once it was gone, I woke up."

"The cure." Kim breathed.

"What?"

"The lightning bolt. That was the cure."

Jason looked her square in the eyes.

"It was more than some random ingredients thrown together."

It was silent again.

"I…..you guys have no idea, how grateful I am." The others looked up at Jason, puzzled.

"I was down, and you guys brought me back up. I couldn't have done it on my own." Jason looked **each** ranger in the eye. "You guys saved me."

"Family sticks together." Tommy said.

"Family protects its own." Zach followed.

"Helps each other out."

"Brings you up when you're down."

"Sticks together no matter what."

"Bands together in times of need to help resolve strife."

They were all standing by now, except Jason.

"Never gives up." Jason said, standing.

Tommy thrust his hand into the middle of their circle, Zach following, then Trini, Billy, Kimberly, and finally Jason.

"We are the Power Rangers. We are a family. And we-"

"NEVER GIVE UP!" Six voices rose as one as six hands punched the air. Jason smiled, truly smiled, finally feeling at peace. Somehow, he knew there would be no more nightmares from this.

The Power Rangers were once more together, standing firm against all evil and darkness. No power in the verse could stop them; could go against them. For when the Power Rangers fought as one, they were the most powerful force in existence.

And **everyone** knew it.


End file.
